


winter falls and warms the heart

by randomcanbian



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-23
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-03-03 00:57:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2832356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomcanbian/pseuds/randomcanbian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carmilla, bless her, decides to choreograph the opening dance to Silas U's annual Winter Festival.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [demonfoxgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=demonfoxgirl).



> For tumblruser demonfoxgirl! A Carmilla Holidays 2014 production.
> 
> I promise, I'm going to finish this, within the next three weeks (although hopefully sooner!). Wasn't able to write sooner, what with hell month, and then finals week, stressing over NMAT, and travelling for like two weeks. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you like it yo.

Laura entered her dorm room at four in the afternoon, fully expecting Carmilla to be sprawled on her bed, either reading a book or deep in slumber as she was wont to do before the hour of eight. It was a surprise, then, when she found no sign of undead life on her girlfriend’s side of the room.

 _‘Carm, where are you’_ , she wanted to text. Laura could not recall Carmilla mentioning seminars or parties, or basically any events that could explain her untimely absence. It wasn’t too clingy, was it? Was there anything wrong in wanting to know why she wasn’t basking in the presence of her beautiful, witty, doting girlfriend?

_You: Carm where are u_

There. Sent.

It usually took a while for Carmilla to notice her messages, so Laura put aside her phone before she began rewriting her Lit notes.

(Even with finals still three weeks away, one could never be _too_ ready, you know?)

Her phone pinged ten minutes into the session; Laura quickly left her attempt at deciphering her shorthand to check her new messages. If she was the tiniest bit disappointed to see LaF’s name lighting up instead of her girlfriend’s, it didn’t show. Or, if it did, it was quickly wiped away by the curiosity triggered by the contents of LaF’s text.

**_LaF:_ ** _You won’t believe what C just did._

Laura had half of her reply typed out (“ _??? what did s_ ”) when the subject of their conversation walked in the room and dropped her slingbag unceremoniously on the floor, before flopping on top of her bed covers. If Laura had learned anything from her journalism class it’s that facts are best when retrieved straight from the source, so she placed her flip phone on the table and swivelled on her office chair to face her girlfriend.

“Hey Carm,” she said, and the words “ _where were you_ ” would have followed, but she was sidetracked by the expression on Carmilla’s face. The girl was staring hollowly at the ceiling, filling Laura’s gut with a heavy, ominous feeling. Regret and a hint of disbelief—these she could read from Carmilla’s features.

“Did something happen?” Laura asked instead.

Carmilla bit her lip.

“I don’t know why I let it,” she said softly, more to the room than anything else as she continued to stare blankly above. Her non-answer troubled Laura further; she could feel her heart racing, could feel her throat drying up.

“It’s not…you didn’t…no one’s hurt, right?”

“In time, someone will be. I swear, if some arrogant Neanderthal—ah.” Carmilla turned to Laura, meeting her eyes for the first time that night. The latter had felt a weight lifting off her the very moment her girlfriend’s voice took a threatening tone.

So, she wasn’t in danger. No one’s life was at risk. Why was Carmilla so out of it when she entered the room then?

“Shit, sorry cupcake, didn’t mean to worry you,” Carmilla said, sitting up. “Or you know what, go ahead. I promise you, this affair isn’t going to end well.”

Laura shot her a look. “There you go again, being all vague and mysterious. For a second there, I actually thought your mom came back and vowed vengeance on us all or something!”

“That would be _marginally_ worse, I suppose. But at least I wouldn’t have had a hand in that happening.”

Laura rolled her eyes.

“Carm, please. Tell me what _awful_ thing happened.”

Carmilla pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She looked right through Laura, with her mouth drawn into a tight line, as if contemplating whether or not she shouldtell Laura what troubled her. A few moments later, she shrugged.

“You’ll find out sooner or later, anyway.” She met Laura’s eyes again, her mouth scrunched up in the cute way that it did in lieu of an ‘ah, fuck it’. It always made Laura want to kiss her; the urge was strong now, but she can’t have herself distracting Carmilla when she was about to divulge the events of that afternoon, can she?

“Perry asked if I could choreograph the opening dance for the Silas Winter Festival and teach it to a group of volunteers. Gods and demons alone know why, but I said yes.”

It took a few moments for it to sink, but then:

“What? No way!”

Laura’s eyes were wide. Her broody, introverted girlfriend, volunteering to teach a bunch of strangers how to dance. Never did she think that she would see the day.

“I know.”

Carmilla ran a hand through her hair.

“It was…a moment of insanity. I may have been delirious for a few minutes. After inhaling decades worth of Silas air, who’d know?”

She stood up and started walking towards the door. Before she could even think, Laura ran out of her chair to block the vampire from the room’s exit.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“I was hoping to find Perry, tell her that I thought it over and would rather _not_ have to watch over a class of bumbling children for the next few weeks. Now if you’d just move out of the way, cupcake—”

“Don’t!” Laura was shaking her head vigorously. She had backed up against the door with her arms spread wide behind her.

Her neck was starting to hurt.

“I mean, do, I guess, go ask Perry if that’s what you really want,” she said. She had stopped shaking her head. Her arms, though, were still situated over the door. “But there has to be a reason you agreed in the first place, right? And I’m not buying that ‘Silas air’ BS Carm. You don’t even need to breathe!”

Carmilla doesn’t answer at first. Instead she merely looked at her, with this gentle, loving gaze, and with her lips curved into a soft smile. Laura could feel herself falling in love all over again.

She moved away from the door—towards Carmilla—just as her girlfriend shook her head, sighed.

“I don’t know. I mean, I suppose I _do_ want this to happen. I want to move on. To meet new people. To teach this generation that it _is_ possible to dance without looking possessed,” she said, making a face towards the end (to which Laura rolled her eyes at).

She then sobered, her gaze dropping to the floor. “It’s still all so surreal. Three centuries I’ve been under Mother’s shadow, and almost all of the people I’ve come to know were in some way part of her plans. To think that I can finally talk to others, without fear of Maman tainting them in some way…”

Laura found herself brushing back Carmilla’s bangs. To look into beautiful, dark, soulful eyes, of a girl who had seen too much, who had suffered too long.

“But she’s gone now. She’s gone, and you’re here, and you’re here with me, and I swear to all the gods out there that if anyone, _anyone_ , ever tries hurting you again they’ll have to answer to me.”

Carmilla stared at her and smiled, and Laura felt so much love in herself that she may just burst.

Until, that is, Carmilla said:

“That’s a lot, coming from someone that’s barely five-foot-two.”

Laura’s eyes widened, her mouth forming into an offended ‘O’; she pushed her girlfriend such that she would fall onto the bed. The latter was laughing.

“I can’t believe you! We were having a moment!”

Carmilla pulled her into bed, and Laura fell to the space beside her.

“And another thing! You know I can incapacitate the average human individual at least five different ways with my bare hands!”

“I love you,” Carmilla said, and damn her because Laura switches from affronted to affectionate in a blink. Carmilla looked at her again, soft and gentle and full of everything that Laura thought love would be, and, really, damn her.

“I love you too, you stupid vampire.”

Laura kissed her.

And kissed her.

And kissed her again.

“So are you going to do the class?” Laura asked.

(If she didn’t then, she’d be too distracted to do so for the rest of the night. Maybe even tomorrow morning.)

“Way to ruin the mood, cupcake.”

“You are unbelievable,” Laura said with a pout, only to have Carmilla kiss it away. The latter then sat up, tied her hair back, and left the bed.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting my laptop,” Carmilla answered, opening her closet. “I can’t choreograph a proper waltz without music, can I?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s not that she was possessive. Carmilla was her own woman, and really, people don’t own people, and anyone who’d feel otherwise were just really wrong. It’s just that it rubbed her the wrong way, the possibility that the people here didn’t know Carmilla was dating her (which was pretty high, since she’s pretty sure she didn’t know 95% of the people in this room even existed until now).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long!!! i was extremely dissatisfied with the first chapter (lol) so it was pretty hard for me to continue writing haha
> 
> i like this one by a significantly larger amount though, if that counts as anything

Laura watched as her girlfriend demonstrated the first few steps of the waltz with this tall, fit upperclassman who could somehow make a ponytail look ruggedly attractive. She may have been frowning a bit.

It’s not that she was possessive. Carmilla was her own woman, and really, people don’t _own_ people, and anyone who’d feel otherwise were just really wrong. It’s just that it rubbed her the wrong way, the possibility that the people here didn’t know Carmilla was dating her (which was pretty high, since she’s pretty sure she didn’t know 95% of the people in this room even existed until now).

“Sure, L, whatever helps you sleep at night,” LaF had said—trying and failing to hide a grin—when Laura said this after they commented on the grimace she was sporting.

“I guess you wouldn’t mind, then,” they added, jerking their head to the right side of the crowd, “that there’s this girl eyeing C like a sack of meat.”

Laura narrowed her eyes as they scanned the crowd in the general direction of where LaF was pointing (jerking? whatever). True enough, there was a student leering at her girlfriend, inciting several strong emotions within her— _none of them being possessiveness_ , okay, whatever LaF might say. There are just _rules_ about looking at your instructor like you want to bed her. ~~So what if Laura’d be doing the same in her position, shut up~~

She’d have gone up to the girl and lectured her about how rude and potentially uncomfortable it was to stare at strangers as inappropriately as she was doing, but she was sort of, well, intimidating. The blonde was almost as tall as Danny, and with the way her arms looked it was possible that she could punch Laura into next week, so like yeah, no. And anyway, what’s the chance of her coming up to Carmilla and hitting on her?

“No, not at all,” Laura replied. “I can’t really blame her, you know.”

LaF snickered. “Yeah, you didn’t _just_ glare daggers at her for a whole minute.”

Laura frowned as she shoved them lightly in the arm. “Whatever. When’s Perry coming so she can stop you from bothering me?”

“Ugh,” they said, hand to heart, “you know just what to say to verbally maim a person L. Anyway, Perr’s meeting has like an hour left, so you’re unfortunately stuck with me.”

“Aren’t you guys dancing though? Shouldn’t she be attending the practice sessions?”

“Short, dark, and snarky in front said she could give Perr and I private lessons so she can catch up.” When LaF noticed Laura’s surprised look, they grinned. “Right? Karnstein’s warming up to us after all.”

“No, it’s not that.” Laura leaned conspiratorially closer to LaF. “Don’t tell her I told you this, but she told me that you guys were—” she looked to her left, then to her right, and then whispered, “pretty alright.”

Laura shrugged as she straightened her spine. “I mean she did call Perry ‘a high-strung mortal whose need for control borders the pathological’ and you a ‘naïve youth with a reckless obsession for the supernatural’, but still. That’s basically Carmilla for ‘she enjoys your company and thinks you’re amazing humans’.”

“Nah, I get it,” LaF said, with a warm smile. “Tell her I love her too. Although no one's called me naïve in, like, ever, woah.”

“Yeah. Basically, you guys are good for her. I guess I’m just really happy that she’s going out of her way to build relationships, like, because she wants to, you know?” Laura gazed fondly at Carmilla. There was an easy smile on her face as she was being twirled around the raised floor, as she was teaching something dear to her to a group of people she’s never seen before.

“And not, like, gaining people’s trust just so they can be eaten by an ancient creature of unfathomable power,” LaF agreed. They shook their head. “I keep forgetting about how much shit she had to go through. I’m really glad that we’re helping.”

Laura nodded.

They fell into a silence, and just sat and watch the two students demonstrating the waltz. The guy was good, Laura had to admit, but he paled in comparison to how graceful and fluid Carmilla moved, or even compared to just how she carried herself. It wasn’t hyperbole to say that she looked absolutely ethereal.

Sometimes, she really can’t believe she’s dating her, you know?

“Okay, that’s the first part of the performance,” Carmilla announced facing the group, after they’d stopped dancing. “Let’s take five before Lin and I teach you the proper form in waltzing. After that, we can practice the basic steps.”

Voices filled the air as thirty or so volunteers—who were sitting on the floor in front of the raised platform—began talking amongst themselves and standing up, heading towards the sides of the dance studio where their bags were located. Laura and LaF stood as well, and began walking towards Carmilla. They had sat on the fringe of the crowd however, because they’d arrive a bit late, and they had to sidestep a number of students on their way to the front.

Halfway to Carmilla, Laura saw the stranger from before heading towards the same destination, and she quickened her pace. There were more people at the front, and she sort of had to shove her way through because they wouldn’t make room for her, which was totally rude (and even though all of them were taller than her, she’s sure they could see her! So like, no excuse).

Despite her efforts, she was still sandwiched between two beefy Zeta bros when the blonde reached the spot where the two instructors were talking.

“Didn’t peg you to know waltz, Yao,” she said, arm around the male instructor. Hmmm. Okay. Maybe Laura was getting worked up about nothing. Turned out Carm’s dance partner was just a friend of her—

“You looked like shit dancing next to her though.” Laura, who was looking underneath the arm of a _different_ inconsiderate mesomorph, caught the stranger flashing her girlfriend a predatory smirk. She could only see the back of Carmilla’s head, but Laura’d bet her weekly budget that she had an eyebrow raised.

“I’ve had some practice,” Carmilla shrugged.

Ugh. That was friendlier than Laura had anticipated. Like, yeah, she was totally encouraging her to open up more and meet new people, but not with someone like her!!!

The male instructor—Yao—placed a palm to his face in response to the shenanigans ensuing, which sort of reflected what Laura was feeling, albeit toned down.

Actually, no. She was feeling a lot more violent.

The blonde nodded in response, apparently satisfied with Carmilla’s answer.

“Name’s Olivier.” Her gaze raked the length of Carmilla’s body, clearly undressing _Laura’s girlfriend_ with her eyes. “What’s say you and I get dinner after class?”

 _Oh hell no_.

Laura powered through the last group of people (a collective of ‘Hey!’s and ‘What-the-hell?’s erupting as several notebooks were scattered and hands flung unceremoniously out of the way) just as Carmilla replied.

“I wouldn’t mind. You and Ling and I and my girlfriend can have a double date, how’s that sound?”

Yao burst into laughter just as Laura (finally) stepped onto the platform.

“Hey, babe,” Laura said, before pulling Carmilla in for a kiss.

(A long kiss.)

(Maybe with a bit of tongue.)

(Who knows?)

When she finally got her mouth off Carmilla’s mouth, she could see Yao bent over in laughter and LaF by the side, shaking in glee. Carmilla was just staring at her speechless, fluttering her pretty eyelashes, while Oliviesomething was stone-faced, her lips drawn into a thin line.

(Good.)

“What’s this about a double-date?” Laura asked innocently. ‘Oh my god,’ LaF mouthed, while Yao had a clenched hand to his forehead, trying not to laugh again. To her surprise, Olivier answered.

“Oh, yeah, you and your girlfriend and I and this shithead over here,” she said, sickly sweet smile on her face as she squeezed Yao’s shoulder (tightly, judging by the pained look on his face), “should grab a bite after this. Little increases the efficiency of teaching more than camaraderie between the teachers, but I can’t on good conscience leave _your girlfriend_ alone with this asshole, can I?”

Hearing her emphasize the phrase ‘your girlfriend’ left Laura smug for all the wrong reasons, but she couldn’t help but marvel at how good Olivier is at making stuff up.

“Carmilla likes me well enough, don’t you?” Yao interjected with a strained grin as he pulled at the hand clawing into his shoulder.

“Uh huh. Yeah. Whatever.” Carmilla’s still a little out of it. She brought her fingers to her lips as if she still couldn’t believe Laura’d made out with her in front of two nigh-complete strangers. Laura could barely suppress her grin.

“I mean, we’re going to have to meet up to choreograph stuff anyway, so you guys don’t have to augh—”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind meeting new people. I’m for it, Carmilla’s for it, if shortstack—”

“ _Laura_.”

Olivier gave her an icy smile. “— _Laura’s_ up to it, why not?”

What’s she up to?

Laura’s cheeks were hurting from how fake her smile was. “Sure. I’d _love_ to get to know you guys.”

“O-okay,” Yao managed to strangle out. Olivier let go of his shoulder, and that creepy smile she had on disappeared (thank god).

“Good. There’s a diner on the far side of the campus with decent food. I’ll come back after you’re done.” She left the group, but not before giving Laura one last steely look. The latter met her head on.

Once she was out of earshot, Laura scoffed. “Jeez, what was her problem?” She turned to Carmilla, who was staring at Olivier’s retreating figure with confusion. “She’s not planning to steal you away from me, is she?”

Yao groaned, rubbing the sore spot on his shoulder. “She doesn’t hit on taken girls, don’t worry. What you _should_ worry about is that you embarrassed her. You’re on her shit list, little lady.”

“What’s she going to do, burn the bacon?” Laura sneered, prior intimidation all but forgotten.

“Trust me. If she wants to mess with you, nothing will stop her.”

Okay, that’s pretty foreboding.

“She was looking at my girlfriend like she wanted to eat her! What the heck was I supposed to do?”

“I was handling myself just fine, cupcake, before you basically shoved your tongue in my mouth. Not that I’m complaining,” Carmilla purred.

“You’re not helping.”

“Hey,” Yao intercepted, “I said _if_ , not _when_. Dinner’s probably just about sizing you up—pretty sure you get a lot of height jokes, so I’m not going to say anything—and seeing if it’s worth the trouble. So really, all you have to do to avoid her wrath is make nice later.”

“I’ll make nice if she makes nice,” Laura mumbled. She scanned the room for Olivier, but she was nowhere to be seen. Figures she was here because of Yao. She didn’t look like the type to volunteer to waltz.

Gods, she was infuriating.

“It’s unsettling to see your face all bunched up and know I’m not causing it,” Carmilla jibed. “Here’s me hoping you won’t tie her up in a room somewhere, or I’ll start having doubts.”

Laura couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“When I have you? No way.”

Laura was still a little pissed off (because seriously, the nerve of that woman), but Carmilla was beautiful and amazing and in love with _her_ , so yeah, Olivier can suck it.

LaF made gagging motions as Laura pecked Carmilla on the cheek, inciting the latter to flip them off.

“As much as I love witnessing this sickeningly sweet display of affection” Yao interrupted, “break’s over. So, Laura—Laura right?—I’m going to have to take your woman. Sorry.”

Laura gave Carmilla one last kiss goodbye before walking away. The latter smiled fondly at her, before rolling her eyes at some comment Yao had just made.

Laura and LaF made their way to the edge of the crowd, just as students began splitting into pairs. They sat down by the sides, their backs leaning against the wall while they watched Carmilla and Yao flitting from pair to pair to criticize their form.

Laura turned her head to LaF when she heard them snicker.

“What?”

“Laura, if that isn’t possessive, I sure as hell don’t know what is.”


End file.
